Of course, the cheapest way to fly privately is to have a friend who invites you on their flight. Then there are the semi-private charters like JetSmarter, JetSuiteX and JetClass where you can buy a seat on a scheduled private jet and corporate shuttle flight sharing it with strangers, much like if you were on a commercial airline. You can buy tickets on these flights for under $200 and you do avoid those crowded main airport terminals. However, if you want to have the real deal experience, chartering your own private jet, you are looking at something between $5,000 and up to $20,000 per hour depending on the size of aircraft and routing.
Lastly, don't be afraid to ask about safety: Any reputable operator should have safety information prominently featured on their website, and won't mind answering questions about their pilots, such as how many hours they have flown. (At least 250 hours, which is what it takes to get a commercial license; NetJets mandates at least 2,500 hours; Wheels Up, mandates 7,000 hours for a captain and 4,000 for a first officer.) Gollan suggests fliers ask if the pilot has any health issues, and feel free to ask if the operator (or plane itself) have any accidents or incidents in its history.
The key words here are prop planes, turboplanes, and light jets. Prop planes like the Cessna Caravan are popular because they're roomy (the seats are like business class, and often configured face to face). More popular these days are planes like the six- to eight-seater Pilatus PC-12, and KingAirs, which fly faster and feel more like jets. And then you get into light jets like Learjets, Embraer Phenom 300s, and Citation CJ3s, and Hawkers, all of which are sleeker and more streamlined, and can fly for four to five hours, for slightly longer trips.
Mr. is extremely upset and disappointed with Stratos Jets as the plane had mechanical problems on take off which delayed the trip by 5 hours. It was his wife's birthday and the entire family had a full day of sightseeing arranged which had to be cancelled. The trip was very costly and he feels he is due back some compensation. Thank you, Etta G.
Same on return flight except we arrived a good half hour early but crew jumped to task and loaded us and dogs promptly for return. Only item worth mentioning was during climb out to altitude both my wife and I heard numerous bumping sound on both sides of fuselage up and down the sides and top. We have owned our own planes and owned shares in jets through Flight Options and chartered often over the years and we have never had this type of noise. It almost sounded like rivets coming out or random bird strikes (which I knew it was not). I mentioned it to the co-pilot and he told me to report it so maintenance could be sure to check it out. Said it may be a maintenance issue on an older aircraft but a first for me. After attaining altitude the noise did not reoccur. All else went according to schedule and the pilots were very professional and assisted on and off with dogs and luggage. I would use again this service. Thank
Private charter flights offer a range of advantages for busy professionals, including time-efficiency. From quicker check-ins to faster transit times, private jet hire is the perfect way to fulfil multiple meetings in different cities, carry out several site visits in one day or simply have more of an opportunity to remain productive while travelling.